Two killed in US jail blast

Washington, May 2

Two inmates were killed and more than 100 were injured in a suspected gas explosion at a jail in the US state of Florida, authorities said.

The blast that took place at about 11 p.m. Wednesday at the Escambia County Jail also caused the jail building to partially collapse, Xinhua cited from the Escambia County’s official web site.

Authorities have now blocked off roads leading to the jail.

About 600 inmates were in the building at the time of the explosion. The injured, including inmates and correction officers, were taken to hospitals. The rest of the inmates were taken to jails in neighbouring counties, it said.

Florida was drenched by rains and was severely flooded Wednesday due to a large storm making its way across the south and the US, but officials said they did not yet know whether the flooding and explosion were related.

An investigation into the cause of the incident has been launched.

(IANS)